Protective covering for rocket engines



May 28, 1968 P, x.. ROSSINI ET AL 3,385,337

PROTECTIVE COVERING FOR ROCKET ENGINES Filed May ll, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l 'r BY Fafff Aam Mza? rw #Wala May 28, 1968 P. L. ROSSINI f-:T AL 3,385,337

PROTECTIVE COVERINGl FOR ROCKET ENGINES Flled May ll, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 56 J4 .M I M 52 5w 5f M United States Patent Oiiice 3,385,337 PROTECTIVE COVERlNG FOR ROCKET ENGINES Pierre L. Rossini, Cupertino, Thomas J.'Barile, Belmont, and Robert L. Carpenter, San Carlos, Calif., assignors, by mesne assignments, to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary ofthe Air Force Filed May 11, 1966, Ser. No. 550,096 1 Claim. (Cl. 15G-52) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A protective covering including a demountable tubular support frame with brackets for attaching the frame to the article to be protected and lig-htweight clear, thermal plastic material overcovering the frame and protecting the article from heat and light.

This invention relates generally to protective packaging for rocket engines, and more specifically to a protective package which protects the aft rack section of the Agena (4) vehicle.

In the past, as certain rocket components were being assembled, each part as it was assembled had to be either wrapped in plastic, taped, or required a special cover to provide physical protection for the part. In some instances, there is a requirement for thermal protection of these parts, especially where they are exposed to the direct rays of the sun or other infrared radiation during assembly, storage or transport. To provide such protection each part had to be cared for indiivdually during exposure and again individually when the component was to -be worked The possibility of physical damage to engine components is of extreme importance in that a dent, nick or scratch to certain parts of the engine could result in engine failure and the loss of an entire missile system.

With the protective package of this invention, it is possible to Iprotect the surfaces `and components of rocket engines from physical damage as well as thermal deterioration.

In this invention a layer of protective material, which may lbe of a thermal control character, is supported by a light-weight frame which is removably attached to the rocket engine. Further, this invention may be yused when the engine is in the fabrication stage or when it is being stored or transported.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new and improved protective package for rockets and rocket engines.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a protective package which is light-weight and easy to attach and detach to missile sections.

It is another object of this invention to provide a protective package which will prevent thermal damage to its contents as well as physical damage.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a protective package which is reusable.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a new and improved protective package which permits immediate visibility and access to the :areas protected.

These and other advantages, features and objects of the invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in connection with the illustrative embodiments in the accompanying drawngs wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of this invention installed on a rocket engine;

3,385,337 Patented May 28, 1968 FIG. 2 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the securing means for this invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a rocket engine is shown generally at 10. Frame members 12 and 14 of the engine support system are located peripherally around engine as shown, although such support member location will vary with the particular section of a missile sought to be protected.

The package support members 16 and 18 which are identical are m-ounted on the engine support members 12 and 14, as shown in FIG. 3, and will be described hereinafter.

Located on the package support tubes are the frame holding 'brackets 20 through 26. Although four brackets are shown, it is to be understood that the number of 'brackets depends on the size of the area to be protected by a particular frame. In no event, however, should less than four brackets be utilized.

In t-he brackets are a pair of grooves 28 in which the frame 30 is detachably mounted. Over frame 30 is a protective material 32 which may be a clear plastic or a thermal plastic to protect the components from heat and light, as well as ldirt and dust.

For the sake of simplicity only one frame is shown mounted on the engine; however, this invention is designed so that the engine can be completely surrounded by the protective packaging. This would be accomplished by mounting another package support member on the unseen side of the engine and a protective frame in the grooves of the holding brackets.

In FIG. 2, is shown another embodiment of the protective package of this invention, partially assembled without the engine. The support members shown at 32, 34, 36 and 38 are interconnected by support rings 40 and 42, thus enabling the package to 'be placed over the end of rocket engine as a unit. The package in this case would be connected to the missile by adapters 44 land 46. The frame 48 is mounted in the same manner as described with regard to F IG. 1. The frame in this embodiment has an additional support 50' which is incorporated where large frames are utilized. The support helps pr-otect against physical damage to the rocket. Likewise the end support ring 42 is reinforced with members 52 to prevent physical damage from lateral blows. Both the end support ring 42 and the frame 48 will be covered with plastic 54 to prevent dust and heat damage.

The means for mounting the package of FIG. l is shown in detail in FIG. 3. The package support -member 16 has the bracket 22 mounted thereon by means of the machine screw 54. The arcuate grooves 28 have an opening which is slightly smaller than the diameter of the frame 30. The `bracket has a slot arrangement 56 which permits the groove to expand when the frame is forced past the slightly closed portion at the mouth of the opening. The support member has mounted therethrough a bolt 58 with a wing nut 60 for tightening the bolt. A sleeve 62. is mounted below the support member and permits the bolt to slide freely through. A metal washer 64 is mounted next to the sleeve with a rubber washer 66 and a second metal washer 68, whereby as the wing nut 60 is tightened, the rubber washer 66 will be squeezed between the metal washers 64 and 68 so that it will expand and grip the sides of the hole 70 of the engine frame "72 and hold the protective package in place.

Although the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it will be understood to those skilled in the art that the invention is capable of a variety of alternative embodiments Within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A protective package for articles comprising: a plurality of elongated suport tubes, means, attached through the support tubes, for detacha'bly mounting said tubes to the article to be protected; a plurality of brackets, having arcuate shaped grooves therein, and mounted in spaced relation, on said support tubes; a regularly shaped panel means comprising a frame adapted to be removably secured in said grooves and a clear, thermal plastic covering mounted over and secured to said frame to prevent dust, heat and light from deteriorating the article protected.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1955 Feasey 150-52 11/1957 Francis 13S-5 9/1959 Krauss et al. 85-70 12/1959 Arnot 206--46 12/1959 Nieset Z50-86 5/1964 Langdon 206-46 10 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primm Examiner.

WILLIAM T. DIXSON, JR., Examiner. 

